Pokemon trading cards, wildly popular with the grade school set, are trading up to the big leagues.

Hasbro is paying $325 million for their maker, privately-held Wizards of the Coast.

The world’s second-biggest toymaker is hoping the Pokemon movie, which comes out this fall, will spur even more trading card sales.

But Seattle-based “Wizards” bring more to the table than Pokemon. It makes the popular “Magic: The Gathering” trading card game and “Dungeons and Dragons,” which can be turned into a variety of Hasbro products.

(Hasbro’s) “Tiger Electronics can make some hand-held games and there can be interactive board games for Milton Bradley, said Burnham Securities analyst David Leibowitz. “By the same token, Wizards can create card games for Furby.”

Wizards of the Coast also has 70 stores, which Hasbro can use to beef up distribution of its own products.

Hasbro is betting a lot of its future on games.

“They have a lift from ‘Star Wars’ this year, but when they look at their bread-and-butter business, ex-games, they see single-digit growth,” says Margaret Whitfield of Tucker Anthony Cleary Gull. “And even board games are hot now.”

Hasbro is especially keen to expand its online gaming. Software versions of Monopoly and Clue have been big successes for the company.

It also plans to launch its web game site, Gaming.com, in the next month. Players will be able to play and buy Hasbro interactive games there. Analysts say Hasbro will also sell ad space.

“This could be one Internet startup that makes money soon,” says Whitfield.

Hasbro isn’t the only toy company going interactive. Mattel is increasing its software offerings as well.

Not everyone was enthusiastic about Hasbro’s latest deal. Standard & Poor’s said that the Wizards’ purchase, together with 3 acquisitions last year, eats up too much of the company’s cash flow. It put Hasbro on credit watch, meaning it may downgrade the company’s debt.

Hasbro says it won’t make changes at Wizards of the Coast, a place where workers often come to the office wearing shorts.

Despite the laid-back attire, it’s hardly a startup. There are 500 people in Washington and another 500 scattered around the world.

The biggest change may be for its 37-year-old founder, Peter Adkison, who will report to Hasbro President Herbert Baum.

“It’s going to be interesting having a boss again,” he said. “But I’m diving into this very enthusiastically.”